From the opening tip, Andre Iguodala looked for his shot. Even better, he didn’t have to sacrifice his playmaking.As the Nuggets played without injured starters Danilo Gallinari and Ty Lawson, Iguodala made a run at a triple-double and Denver cruised to a 132-114 victory over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.

Iguodala made three jump shots in the game’s first 4 minutes and finished with 18 points, a season-high 14 assists and seven rebounds as the Nuggets matched their NBA franchise record by extending their home winning streak to 20 games.

“I changed the approach up a little bit,” said Iguodala, who is averaging 12.6 points on the season. “It’s been working for me all year as far as how I approach the game and how I want to play to be most effective.”

Behind a balanced attack and a season-high 40 assists, Denver (53-24) improved to an NBA-best 35-3 at home and solidified its hold on the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoff race. The Nuggets lead Memphis by 1.5 games and the Los Angeles Clippers by 2.5.

“If we put 56 wins on the board, we can’t ask for much more than that,” Denver coach George Karl said.

With three home games remaining, 56 wins is certainly within reach – even without Gallinari, who is out for the season after tearing the ACL in his left knee, and Lawson, who is recovering from a plantar fascia tear in his right heel.

Wilson Chandler started in Gallinari’s place against Houston and scored all 21 of his points after the first quarter. Corey Brewer led the Nuggets with 22 points off the bench, and Andre Miller added 11 points and 12 assists.

Miller and Iguodala became the first Nuggets teammates with at least 12 assists in the same game since Michael Adams and Fat Lever had 13 apiece on Jan. 10, 1989.

“Guys really focused in,” Iguodala said. “With Gallo going down, we realize we have to step up. We did some good things. We are trying to get a groove going and that might have been the case tonight.”